Tuesday Morning Quarterback moves to ESPN.com's Page 2.

August 29, 2002 3:47 PM

Tuesday Morning Quarterback moves to ESPN.com's Page 2. Err...moved. In April. (Other weblogs missed the move, too; apparently the only clue was a Best of Slate post.) I've always loved reading TMQ and I hope it's just as good at ESPN.com. Alternative viewpoint: TMQ Sucks. [Cross-pollinated from SportsFilter]
posted by kirkaracha (7 comments total)

Thanks for the link...I too love TMQ. I often remember impatiently reloading slate's homepage on Tuesday mornings waiting for the article to be posted. Glad to see that he has found a new home.
posted by mmascolino at 5:16 PM on August 29, 2002

I've always thought ESPN's Page 2 had some of the best writing out there.

I actually have them in my sidebar between Arts & Letters Daily and McSweeneys. You gotta love any site that can put Hunter Thompson (though I do notice the good Dr.'s presence is diminished lately) and David Halberstam on the same page.
posted by cedar at 5:56 PM on August 29, 2002

I hate to say it, but in my opinion, TMQ has mysteriously declined since the switch, and not slightly, either. In the first season on Slate, it was a spectacular bit of football commentary, somewhat funny but largely just smart. One of the rarest examples of sports writing, that which makes the actual enjoyment of the sport itself better. In season two, a slight drop off, but nothing scary. Now, in the three or four columns for Page 2 (which I agree, is very enjoyable, particularly Bill Simmons' Sports Guy) Easterbrook has lost his funny. As well as his interesting. The AFC & NFC previews in this week & last week's columns were at least informative, but the crap that surrounds the articles has really, really started to drag. At best, it used to be mildly amusing trifles, like the senryu or the Times Predictions, but now it's just long, Lileks' esque screeds. Please, please Gregg, get back on track.
posted by jonson at 9:02 PM on August 29, 2002

Ditto. Thanks for the link. Good to know I am not the only one who hit refresh anxiously on Tuesday mornings. I have lots of catching up to do at work tomorrow this weekend.
posted by internal at 9:33 PM on August 29, 2002

Jonson: I've noticed the same thing, but consider:

1. The NFL season hasn't even started yet. Give him some time to get some raw material. :)

2. Consider: he's writing for an entirely new audience (there are carry-overs from Slate, of course, but it's safe to say that a large portion, if not most, of his current readers are people unfamiliar with his Slate columns). Most of what made TMQ v1.0 so great was the fact that there was a rapport between Easterbrook and his readers, and jokes and running gags that developed over time (the Chesapeake Watershed Region Indigenous Persons, for instance). I don't necessarily expect the first few weeks to be really excellent, if only because there's some feeling-out to be done. But, seeing what the Sports Guy has done with his readers since making the transition to the national stage, I have high hopes that Easterbrook can do the same on a bigger platform.
posted by dayan at 10:05 PM on August 29, 2002

I love TMQ, even though he doesn't like the Persons or owner of Persons. This weeks column lagged because he had to explain to all the ESPNers the TMQ lingo.

You know, like Kurt Warner being an alien and all.
posted by owillis at 10:52 PM on August 29, 2002

Wow, I missed this too. Thanks.
posted by smackfu at 7:37 AM on August 30, 2002